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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bulb — for light
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mug — a face
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — to rob
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — of law
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com